Retelling Memories
by beautifullife4now
Summary: Edward has a special mind. One that can recall any certain event that he has experienced. When tragedy strikes, Edward uses his gift to help heal his loved ones. But, are his words enough to bring them out of their darkness and see the light again?
1. The Accident

**"Uh oh. She's got a new story. How long is this one going to be up for?" Is what some of you are saying. But, this story is here to stay. I really like this one. I've got ideas for it and I'm really excited to get into this one. If you read my other story Chasing Raine, the next chapter should be up tomorrow. I'm finally getting back into writing after the whole Rob and Kristen situation. I lost the will to write for a bit. But it's back! **

**Now, before I'm done rambling, I just want to say, this story is kind of sad. It is written in EPOV from beginning to end. Once you get into it, you'll know what I mean. I'll explain more about the story next chapter. Cause this is a long ramble.  
**

**Disclaimer: Anything Twilightish belongs to Stephenie Meyer.  
**

* * *

Have you ever thought how life could change in an instant? How you could be having the greatest time of your life and then, with the snap of a finger, it's all gone. You have just taken that first ride on your new bike, and then 3 seconds of a distraction. You've crashed that brand new red bicycle. Your mom finally lets you walk the new family dog, even though you are only 8 years old and can barely hold the leash. One slip of a finger and the dog sprints into the woods and is never seen again. First day at a new school and you want it to be different this time around because no one knows you. One accident with the water fountain and you're known as Tinkle Toes. These might not seem so bad, to someone older. But to a kid, these are some the worst things ever.

And then you grow up and move on with life. You forget about your embarrassing childhood. You're a teenager now. But, life has its way of making unexpected things happen at the most exciting and nerve raking times. You finally get the nerves to go up and tell your best friend since birth that you like her, _really _like her. You forget your shoe is untied and trip on the way over and get your braces stuck on the carpet. You are taking your first driving test. Everything seems to be going great, and then you forget one Stop sign and you fail. Your first date? Spill your drink all over your date's pretty dress. Your first kiss? Your foreheads bump together because you went in for it to fast.

But, even those moments don't seem life changing. But, in the moment, it felt your world came to crashing a halt and you wanted to die because of the humiliation. But, you look back on those moments now and realize that, your teenage-self overreacted. The real life changing moments came later in life.

The moment you graduated High School; your parents were so proud of you. Your first day at College; that feeling of no parental rules. Graduating as Valedictorian; you felt like you were on top of the world. Proposing to your girlfriend of 8 years; the look on her face you'll cherish forever. Finally marrying the absolute love of your life; nothing in the world could compare to what you felt that day. The birth of your first child; if anything could make you happier, you'd probably burst!

And then your life is perfect. Everything you ever wanted in life was right there, in front of you. You never ever thought that one day it could all come crashing down and throw you into a tailspin. But, it did for me, Edward Cullen. My life came to a startling halt in the matter of 45 seconds.

-oOo-

I can remember the exact day, month, year and time everything happened. I had this exceptional memory. Once something happened, it was stored up there in my brain, for the rest of my life. My parents called me their little "Family Library". I remembered every family trip. Every birthday I've had, from my 5th birthday to my current age of 30. I had 25 years of clear memories stored up here. If someone wanted to know anything about my past, I could tell them on the spot without hesitating.

But, this wasn't just a gift, it was also a curse. Not only did I remember all the happy times. I remembered all the sad and hurtful ones. And those were the ones I wish I could never remember. I didn't like looking back at those. The one that hurts the most to remember was the accident that happened nearly 6 years ago. And I'm always blaming myself for it, when I know it wasn't my fault. And it wasn't yours. Because I'm sure you would blame yourself. When in reality, it was just bad timing. And, I can go back it to like it was yesterday. . .

-oOo-

_**Saturday, December 23**__**rd**__** 2006 7:00pm (3 hours and 22 minutes before the accident)**_

_We were sitting around in your parent's living room. We had come over for an early Christmas celebration. We were gathered around the TV, watching your favorite Christmas movie, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It was at your favorite part. Clark is trying to get the lights to work on his house. You always said you wanted to make the house look like that one year. _

_You and I were settled on the couch. I remember that you were nestled on my lap and I had my arm wrapped around your back. I'd give your strawberry scented brown hair a few pecks, and you sigh with content. Your dad, Chief Charlie Swan, was sitting in his arm chair, drinking a Vitamin R, his favorite beverage. And your mother, Renee, was sitting propped up against his legs. And then, our pride and joy; our daughter was completely mesmerized by the shiny wrappings of the presents under the tree. _

_McKayla Rae Cullen, was the prettiest girl in the world, next to you. She was only 5 months old, but she was already so smart. She had everyone she met wrapped around their tiny little fingers; especially me. I hated to know what she could get me to do when she got older. _

_**9:03pm (1 hour and 19 minutes before the accident)**_

_We had just finished__un-wrapping our gifts. There was shiny paper everywhere. McKayla was more interested in the paper then the new toys she got. But, that was to be expected of a 5 month old. Your dad and I were out loading our new gifts into the Volo, while you and your mom were inside cleaning up the paper. It was just beginning to snow. _

_I had wanted to get out on the road to start the drive home. We had about a 2 hour drive to make. And this snow would most likely slow us down a lot. Once your dad and I had everything squared away out in the Volvo, we came inside to say good-bye. Who knew that this would be the last time you would see your parents. _

_**10:20pm (2 minutes before the accident)**_

_We had been driving for an hour. Well, I had been driving for an hour. You were sitting next to me reading your new Nicholas Sparks book, with the book light you got in your stocking from your parents. And our daughter was all bundled up in her car seat. She was banging away on her seat with her pacifier. You think that she would be passed out by now. And then, it must have fallen out of her hands because the banging stopped and screaming ensued in the back seat._

"_I got it." You said, never taking your eyes from your book. You reached your hand back on to the floor, searching for her pacifier. When you couldn't find it, you huffed that cute frustrated noise. You bookmarked your page and shut your book. I chanced a glance at the clock, 10:22pm. Just as you set your book on the dashboard, and turned around, everything happened. _

_A deer came bursting onto the road. I swerved the car, trying not to hit it. The wheels skidded on the icy road and the car went into a tailspin. I heard you scream from beside me. I heard McKayla screaming in the back. Everything just got progressively louder; the squealing of the tires on the ice and both of your screams. My hands were stuck, firm on the wheel. I was trying to regain control, but it was a losing battle. And then, the sound of glass shattering and silence overcame the car. You had stopped screaming. McKayla had stopped her shrieking. The car had come to complete stop._

_I didn't realize it, but my eyes were squeezed shut. When I opened my eyes, I wish I hadn't. The windshield on the passenger side had a huge tree branch through it. The rest of it was just cracked. I feared what I might find if I turned my head. And when I did, all the air left my body._

_As I panned my head, I saw the tree branch had spanned all the way til it rested against the passenger seat headrest. I looked down and saw you. You were sprawled out in the front and back of the car. The branch must have hit you somehow. I turned in my seat and followed your body that I knew so well. Your chest was on the middle console and your head was hanging in the back seat. Your dark curls concealing your face. I was really having trouble breathing now. My heart was beating 100 miles an hour. I was scared. I was even more frightened about what might have happened to our daughter. _

_I took a deep breath and looked up. There, sitting in her car seat, staring straight at me was McKayla. She hadn't screamed, or really done anything. She didn't look hurt and I could see her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. I knew she was going to be alright. But you, I didn't know what was wrong. I couldn't tell if you were alive or. . . My brain refused to even think that way. You needed to be alright. What seemed like ages and years, I finally pulled out my phone. The time read 10:24. I had only been sitting here for 2 minutes. I quickly dialed 911. _

_**11:01pm (37 minutes after the accident)**_

_Three cop cars, two ambulances, a fire truck and a tow truck arrived on the scene fifteen minutes ago. A police officer walked up to my side of the vehicle. He asked me if I was okay and if I could get out of the car. He had to repeat himself at least 3 times because I was staring at your unconscious body. I finally acknowledged the man, and got out of the vehicle. I was moving like a robot. I knew I was talking. I knew I was moving. But, it felt like I wasn't fully there. _

_I walked over to the ambulance so they could check me out. I must have been too focused on you and McKayla because I had a long gash on my forearm. It wasn't deep enough to need stiches, but it would scar up nicely. After the EMT wrapped up my arm in white gauze, he told me I was going to be fine. I merely nodded my head. Once I was done, my daughter was brought over. She was crying and squirming in the firefighters arms. I was allowed to hold her while she was checked injuries. I soothed her and lessened her cries a bit. She was going to be fine. _

_A police officer was supposed to come talk to me about the accident, but it looked like they were all occupied. They were helping the firemen get you out of the car safely. From what I could see from the back of the ambulance, they had sawed off the tree branch from inside the Volvo. The hood of the car was sawed off as well. It looked like they were trying to move your body, without hurting you more. _

_After what seemed like hours, you were removed from the car and set on the gurney. A neck brace was strapped around your neck. I still couldn't see your face because it was just too dark. And that frustrated me to no end. I turned our daughter away from where you were because she had just stopped wailing. I didn't want her to start up again. I wouldn't be able to keep it together. _

_**11:59pm (1 hour and 35 minutes after the accident)**_

_You were put into an ambulance and driven to the hospital. I wasn't allowed to come because I still had to give information to the police about the accident. McKayla had finally fallen asleep and was lying inside the ambulance where they checked us out in. It was getting colder by the minute. The snow was still falling, but it was like floating down from the sky. _

_I relayed the story, in exact detail, to the police officer from inside his cop car. I kept it together for the most part. I learned that car was a complete loss. I didn't really care. It took a few minutes for the cop to put everything into fancy police computer, before I was allowed to leave. They had to stay on the scene and take pictures and all this other police type of stuff. You would have probably known everything because you grew up with one. And then I remembered, I would have to call your parents._

_I rushed to the ambulance and they said I could ride to the hospital with them. But, it was going to be a good 40 minutes before we got there. I said that was fine. I sat in the back of the ambulance with McKayla sound asleep in my lap. I wish I could sleep. But, I knew that was impossible now. _

_**Sunday, December 24**__**th**__** 2006 Christmas Eve; 1:24am (3 hours after the accident)**_

_When we got to the hospital, I rushed to the emergency wing. Well, as fast as I could with a sleeping little girl in my arms. I said your name to the receptionist and told her who I was. She told me to hang on while she got a doctor. My breathing was starting to hitch. She would have told me where you were if you were fine. You're not fine. Something has gone extremely wrong; very, very wrong. All I could think was, 'I can't lose you. Please don't be gone.' I was losing my mind. _

_A doctor finally showed up after about 10 minutes. He asked me if I was Mr. Cullen. I said yes. He had a sad look in his eyes, when he gave me one of those, 'I'm sorry,' smiles. _

_A coma._

_You are in a coma. I didn't know whether I should have been relieved to hear this or completely devastated. I think I showed a mixture of both on my face. _

_The doctor sat me down and told me the extent of your injuries. You had internal bleeding in your brain, and it was a miracle you were even alive. You also had a few scrapes along your arms from the shattering windshield. But, those would heal. The internal bleeding was hard to stop. The doctors had put you in an induced coma. And they were working on trying to stop the bleeding in your head as we speak. _

_The doctor left me after assuring me that he would let me know in an hour how things are going. I sat in the lobby just letting the news soak in. I couldn't hold in the tears anymore. I slowly let them trickle down my face. Some of them landed on our beautiful baby girl. I looked down at her sleeping form. She wouldn't understand what is going on. I wondered how long it would take, before she wanted the warmth of her mother._

_**2:26am (4 hours and 2 minutes since the accident) **_

_I had finally called your parents. Your mom answered on the 3__rd__ try. I tried to tell her, as calmly as possible, about you. She started weeping, and when she couldn't speak anymore, she handed the phone to your father. I told him where we were and that I was still waiting on an update. He said that they'd be right over and hung up. _

_When they showed up, your mom embraced me and McKayla in a tight hug. Your dad asked if we could go see you. I said, no because you were still in the ER. Your mom offered to hold McKayla for a while. I handed her over and we all sat down in the lobby, waiting. _

_We didn't have to wait long before the same doctor came out. I finally learned his name was Carlisle. Your dad and I got up to talk to him. Your mom stayed put, rocking her granddaughter back and forth. _

_We were told that they managed to get the bleeding to stop. And that the medicine used to induce your coma has gone. They gave you just enough to stop the excess blood flow. You should wake up in a couple of hours. You were going to be alright. I couldn't have been more relieved. Your dad shook his hand and told him thanks for the help. Carlilse waved him off saying it's what he does. He also said that he'd come back and get us when you woke up. _

_We walked back over to our seats and your dad relayed the information over to your mom. She cried some happy tears. Everything was going to just fine. _

_**5:46am (7 hours and 22 minutes since the accident) **_

_I must have dosed off because your mother was shaking me awake. I opened my eyes and turned to her. She had fresh tear tracks on her face. Her eyes were puffy and red. This couldn't be good. I asked her what was wrong. She told me you hadn't woken up yet. You were supposed to wake up an hour ago. I sat up straighter in my chair. I wanted to speak to the doctor to find out what is going on. I looked around and found Charlie talking to him quietly a few feet away. I got up and walked over there. _

_Carlisle looked at me with those sad eyes again. It turns out, you were in a coma; a real, non-induced coma. They don't when you're going to wake up. They ran some tests and they think you could be under for months. The accident did some serious damage. _

_After Carlisle told us this, he asked us if we wanted to go see you. Charlie said that I should go first; he wanted to go comfort Renee before going. I took a deep breath before nodding my head. But, I wanted McKayla to come with me. She needed to see you. _

_I grabbed McKayla out of her arms. She was still sleeping, but she would be waking up soon. I followed Carlisle down the hall. We took a left and walked down to the Intensive Care Unit. My breathing began to speed up, my heart began to pound. I didn't know what I would find. We came up to door. It was where you were staying. Carlisle stopped in front of it and said he'd wait outside. I took a few deeps breaths; tightening my grip on our daughter before opening the door._

_I was actually expecting worse. I'm glad my thoughts were wrong. I walked inside and saw 2 double beds. But, only one was occupied. And there you were. I stopped just inside the door. I don't know why I couldn't move any farther. You were lying in the bed, completely still. You had a tube sticking out of your nose and mouth. You had wires hooked up to your arms. The heart monitor was beeping out the sounds of your pulse. It was the only thing letting me know you're alive, besides the slow rise and fall of your chest. _

_I slowly made my way to your bed side. I sat down on the little rolling stool, and pulled up to side without the monitors. I just sat quietly and took in your form. Your gorgeous brown locks were framing your face. Your hands were lying still at your sides. I wish I could see your pretty chocolate, brown eyes. I reached out and grabbed your hand. I wrapped my fingers around it and gave a little squeeze. This is when McKayla began to stir. _

_She was sitting propped up on my leg. She was looking at you. She was reaching for you. And it was hard not to just give her to you. She wanted you to hold her so bad. She began to get squirmy and calling out, "Momma!" every 2 seconds. I knew it was time to leave before she got too loud. I let go of your hand, setting it back down. I held in most of my tears, but, a few slip by me. McKayla then began to cry. I left the room quickly and shut the door. _

-oOo-

It's been 5 years 7 months and 8 days since the accident. It's been that long since I've heard your voice. You've missed so many birthdays. So many wedding anniversaries. So many holidays. But, I've spent almost all those holidays with you, in your hospital bed. I'm always hoping that you'll open your eyes one of these visits. They say that some of things I tell you, you can hear. I'm hoping that's true because if it's not, I want beat up whoever told me it was.

"Excuse me, Mr. Cullen? Visiting hours are over."

"Thank you, Karen. I'll be out in a moment." I say to the nurse, who smiles and then closes the door again.

I look back at you; still looking as gorgeous as you did 5 years ago. I brush a strand of your hair off your face. I rise from the chair and push it against the wall.

"McKayla's first day of school is tomorrow. I wish you could be there to witness it. Our baby girl is starting kindergarten. I know you'd be proud of her," I sigh and lean over your forehead. "I love you, forever." I lay a gentle kiss on your forehead before walking out.

* * *

**More chapters to come! Another ramble next chapter. I promise it will be short and sweet lol Thanks for reading. Reviews appreciated xoxo**


	2. First Day of Kindergarten

**So, here is another chapter! We get to see some Daddyward in this chapter. See you at the bottom!  
**

**Disclaimer: Anything Twilight related, not mine.**_**  
**_

* * *

_**Thursday August 23**__**rd**__**, 2012 (6:30am) **_

_*beep beep beep beep* _

My hand comes down on top of my alarm clock, shutting off the annoying beeping noise. I grumble as I roll over on my back. I rub the sleep from my eyes, and stare up at the ceiling. Even though it's been 6 years, the bed still feels empty without her sleeping form next to me. And just thinking about her brings back some of the pain.

I mentally shake the thoughts trying to make their way into my brain. I needed to be happy today, of all days. Today was McKayla's first day of Kindergarten; which reminded me I needed to get her up and moving. I rose out of bed and quickly put a t-shirt on. I walked down the hall to the white door with the pink letters spelling out her name on it. I turned the door knob, and poked my head inside.

Her room was like a pink explosion. The walls were a light shade of pink. She had a pink rug, pink lamps and pink everything, really. It was her favorite color at the moment. She said that when she turns six and three quarters, her new favorite color was going to be purple. She also said that when she turns six and three quarters that I'm going to be really old.

But, if you look past all the pink, laying on the bed you'd find something out of place. Her bronze ringlets were spread out and hanging over the side of the bed. And she was half hanging off her little bed. McKayla was always a restless sleeper, just like her mother. I walk over to her bed and lifted her so she's no longer almost falling off.

"McKayla, sweetheart, time to get up." I coo in her ear. I brush some of the hair off her face. She scrunches up her nose.

"Noooo," she trails off as she rolls over so her face meets her mattress.

"But, if you don't get up, you're going to be late for Kindergarten." I say

"I don't wanna go. I'm scared." She says to her mattress.

"Why are you scared? You were really excited last night."

"What if no one likes me?" She rolls over and looks at me with her brown eyes.

"Oh, don't say that," I pull her onto my lap. "There are going to be lots of kids there. I'm sure one of them will like you."

"How do you know?" She plays with a lock of her hair between her fingers.

"I know because I'm your dad and I know these things. And I know because they would be crazy not to want to be friends with you."

"You better be right." She says, as she crawls off my lap and stands in front of me.

"Oh, I am right," I say, as I smile. "Now, why don't we go have some breakfast and get ready to go?"

"Okay, because my tummy is hungry for Froot Loops. He's been talking to me all night." McKayla says, putting her hands on her hips.

I chuckle. "Is that so?"

"Yes," she nods her head. "He's been saying, 'Feed me Froot Loops. Grrrrr!'."

"Then let's go fix that." I scoop her up into my arms. She lets out a shrill giggle as I carry her to the kitchen.

_**7:20am**_

"McKayla, your hair is fine. Stop touching it." I say to her through the review mirror. She just makes a face at me and puts her hands in her lap.

"Are we almost there?" She asked a few minutes later. This was the third time she's asked in the past 10 minutes.

"Almost, just a couple more blocks." I glanced in the review mirror, she was back to messing with her hair. I just rolled my eyes and went back to the road. I pulled up to the entrance of Forks Elementary. I heard a gasp from the back seat.

"It's so big." McKayla said in awe. I smiled at her idea of big.

"It's not that big. It only looks big." I say, pulling into a parking spot.

I parked the car and got out to help McKayla out of her car seat. I navigate the complicated buckles and help her out. McKayla chose to wear her favorite flower print jumper. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, with a few pieces framing her face. That was about the only thing I knew how to do with her hair. She grabbed her pink Tangled backpack and her pink butterfly lunchbox.

"Ready to go?" I asked, taking her hand and shutting the door. We started walking towards the front entrance.

"I hope so." She practically whispered. She was looking around at the kids getting off the buses at the other end of the parking lot. She grabbed my hand tighter as we neared the door.

We walked into the school and made our way to the Kindergarten hall. There were hooks and cubby holes lined up outside each classroom door. The walls were pretty much bare, but I'm sure they would be filled with the kids art once school got going. McKayla began to drag behind me, but never let go of my hand. Once we reached her classroom, she stopped a little ways from the door.

"I changed my mind. I don't want to go to Kindergarten anymore." She said, looking a little frightened.

"Why don't you want to go? It could be a lot of fun," I say, squatting down in front of her.

"I'm scared." I rest my hands on her shoulders.

"You don't need to be scared. You'll make lots of-"She started shaking her head.

"I'm not scared about me. I'm scared about you. You'll be all alone. You'll have no one to play with once I'm in Kindergarten." She looked like she was about to start crying. I quickly wrapped her in a hug. She wrapped her hands around my neck tightly.

"Oh, baby, you don't need to worry about me. I'll have plenty of things to do while you're here." I pulled back and wiped some of the tears from her cheeks. "You just need to worry about having fun. Promise me that you won't worry about me, okay? You need to learn and make friends."

"If you promise not to have too much fun while I'm gone." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

"I promise," I smile at her as I stand up. "Now, are you ready to go inside now?"

"Yes," She takes my hand and walks forward but stops again. "You first though."

I chuckle and roll my eyes. I walk into the room first. There are just a few kids around, some of them playing with toys and others drawing at a nearby table.

"Is it safe?" McKayla asks from behind me.

"Yes, it's safe. No one is going to hurt you." I look down at her, hiding behind my leg.

McKayla peeps around my leg, looking around. "See, it's not that scary." I say to her.

"Why, hello there," I look up and am met with a pair of bright blue eyes. "I'm Kate."

"Edward," I reach out my free hand and shake hers. "And the one hiding behind my leg is my daughter, McKayla."

"Well, hello there McKayla. I'm your teacher, Miss Kate." She bends down a little. McKayla slowly comes out from behind my leg.

"Hello." She says, in a quiet, shy voice.

"That's a pretty dress, you got on there." Kate says in a sugary sweet voice.

"Thank you." McKayla says, a bit louder than before.

"We are just about to start our day. Would like to come join us?" Kate asks.

McKayla looks up at me, and I nod my head in encourage meant. "Okay."

I lift her up to hug her good-bye. "See you later, daddy."

"See you later." I give her a kiss on the forehead, before putting her down. She follows Kate deeper into the classroom.

_**11:30am**_

"How was McKayla this morning?" Emmett, my best friend and co-worker, asked.

"She was a little afraid at first, more so for me because I wouldn't have anyone to play with," Emmett laughed. "But, once I told her would be fine, she was fine." I said, biting into my sandwich.

Emmett and I work for his dad at McCarty Publishing. Emmett works the marketing department, while I work in the editorial department. I could have been working in marketing with Emmett, but I needed a job that I could do from home. But, since McKayla is in school now, I get to spend more time in the office.

"Were your kids excited for school?" I asked.

"Well, James was. He was finally excited to be going into the 2nd grade. I told him it was no different than the 1st grade. Rose slapped me." He said. I tried to keep my laugh inside, but Emmett must have heard me. He was glaring at me sideways. "Anyways, and little Annabelle was really excited for pre-school. She was up at 5am. That's how excited she was."

Emmett was two years older than me, but we've known each other since we were kids. He ended up marrying Bella's friend Rosalie. I didn't know what he loved about her, but as long as he was happy. They had 2 kids, James, who was 8 and Annabelle who was 4. They had another one on the way. Emmett wanted a big family. Rosalie wasn't too thrilled, but she'd do anything to make Emmett happy. And she loved kids, to my surprise.

"Did you tell her it wasn't time to leave yet?" I popped a couple chips in my mouth.

"I tried," he said in between bites. "She wanted to try on every outfit in her closet. And she wanted to try on every single pair of shoes, with everything she tried on. And you've seen her closet. We weren't done till seven. And Rose finally came in after what seemed like the millionth outfit, and told her it was time to get ready. She was laughing at me the whole time." I was kind of laughing myself. He was going to have trouble with her when she got older.

"Emmett, you know the word no exists right?" I grinned over my Coke can.

"Rose told me the same thing, before she left for work. But, you can't say no to her puppy face. It's just too adorable." I just shook my head and finished up my lunch.

"Are you coming to Jasper and Alice's end of summer BBQ tonight?" Emmett asked on the way back from the cafeteria.

"Yeah. McKayla really wants to see the twins. She hasn't seen them all summer." I say.

"Cool. Hey, are you going to visit Bella later? Because if you are, I can have Rose pick McKayla up at school when she gets James." Emmett asked as we stopped right outside his office door.

"That would be great. Thanks." I say

"No problem man." Emmett says, before disappearing into his office.

_**3:30pm **_

"Hi love," I say. I'm sitting in the same spot I always do when I come and visit her. I sit on her left side, angled towards her head. I grasp her hand, and stare at the simple wedding band wrapped around her ring finger. "McKayla went to Kindergarten today. She was scared at first, but I helped her conquer her fear. She was mostly worried about me being left alone." I smiled sadly. The sound of her heart beating from the machine filled the silence.

"Do you remember our first day of Kindergarten? That's where we first officially met. . ."

-oOo-

_**Monday August 24**__**th**__** 1987 (10:30am)**_

_I was running around on the black top outside of school. It was time for morning recess. I was playing tag with Jasper, Emmett and a bunch of other kids. We were playing the "non-girly" version of tag, which really meant, that tagging was taken to a whole new level. You didn't tap to tag. You shoved to tag the person. That was probably why not a lot of people played with us. _

_I had run to base, which made you safe from the person who was it. Base happened to be the swing set. I sat down on the last available swing. That was the only way you could be safe, you had to be sitting on a swing. And that's when you came along._

"_Are you going to swing or not?" You asked me. You had on a blue and purple striped shirt with blue jeans on. You had your hair in two pig tails high on top of your head. You looked so impatient with your hands on your hips. _

"_No." I said, looking around for Jasper. He was it._

"_Well then can I have the swing?" You had asked._

"_No." I said again._

"_Why not? You aren't even swinging on it." You crossed your arms and gave me the first of many of your signature looks. You raised your eyebrow, like you were waiting for me to challenge you._

"_Because this is base. If I leave, then I might get tagged and I don't want to be it." You huffed and stamped your foot._

"_But, you aren't even using it. I actually want to swing. Why are boys games so stupid?"_

"_They aren't stupid!" I said defensively, I look over and see two empty swings. "Girls just don't understand them. Why don't you go take one of those swings? They are open."_

"_Because I want this swing. Why don't you go take one of those swings?" You still haven't moved your position._

"_Ugh. Because if I get up, I might get tagged. Geez, I said that already." I was getting really frustrated. "Girls."_

"_Boys." You mimic me._

"_Fine. Have my swing. I'm not supposed to be on base this long anyway." I get up off the swing. I barely got away from the swing before I was knocked to the ground._

"_EDWARD'S IT!" Some kid, I think his name is Michael, shouts as he runs away._

"_Are you okay?! What kind of tag game is this?" You ask, looking down at me._

"_Non-girly tag. A tag doesn't count if it's just a tap." I say, getting up, brushing off my jeans. _

"_My daddy was right. Boys are stupid." You said, walking around me to the swing. "But, thanks for the swing, Edward." _

"_You're welcome. . . What's your name?" _

"_Bella."_

"_You're welcome, Bella."_

_I ran off in the direction where Michael was standing laughing, while you began to swing back and forth._

-oOo-

"Who knew that meeting would start some sort of friendship." I come back to the present. I look down at my watch realize it is almost five. I have to be over at the Whitlock's in a few minutes.

"I'm going over to Alice and Jasper's house for an end of summer BBQ. I know you would love to be there. Hopefully, you'll be there for the next one." I kissed her on the forehead before walking out the door.

_**5:48pm**_

The smell of burgers, hotdogs and meat fill the Whitlock's backyard. The sounds of children's laughter and adult conversation filled the air. McKayla was running around with Bailey and Hannah Whitlock, Alice and Jasper's 6 year old twins. James and Luke, Alice and Jasper's 8 year old son, were poking a frog with sticks. And Annabelle was playing with the Whitlock's dog, Rufus on the patio.

"How's Bella doing?" Jasper asks me, from his spot near the grill.

"Same as always." I respond robotically. That was my answer anytime someone asked. She was never changing.

"Don't worry, man. She'll come back." Jasper says, sipping his beer. I give a little smile, before taking a sip of my own.

"So," Alice chimes in, saving everyone from the awkwardness that question always brings. "Rose, how far along are you?"

"About 6 months. Almost done, thank god. Whoever said pregnancy was beautiful, must have been fucking high." Rose said, from her lounge chair.

"Ooo! Mommy said a no no word!" Annabelle yelled from her spot, scaring the dog.

"Uh oh. Should mommy go to time out?" Emm asked, chuckling. Rose gave him a glare that could cut ice.

"Yes! Time out, mommy!" She said wagging her finger. Everyone busted out laughing.

"Hey, at least she didn't repeat it." I said. "She could be a bad word repeater."

"That is true," Alice said. "Like this one time, Jasper dropped something on his toe. He started saying a stream line of bad words, and I think Bailey walked by. She went up to her sister and started telling her them. Someone got in big trouble."

"I said I was sorry," Jasper said, putting everything onto plates. "And I even told them to never ever say those words. Have they said them since? No."

"That you know of." Emmett whispered. Rose slapped him upside the head. "What was that for?"

"I don't know. I just felt like it." Rose shrugged.

_**8:00pm **_

It was almost time for everyone to head home. Alice and Rose were cleaning up the plates and putting the leftovers away inside. Emmett, Jasper and I were sitting on the patio facing the backyard. The kids were all trying to catch lightening bugs.

"I GOT ONE! I GOT ONE! LOOK!" Hannah shouted.

"Mine's bigger!" James shouted.

"No way! They are all the same size!" Luke shouted back.

"No they aren't! Mine is bigger! Let's compare them, then!" James walked over to Luke.

"Your kid is such a nerd like you." Emmett said to Jasper.

"At least he never tried to see if he could touch his brain by shoving a pencil in his nose." Jasper countered.

"Well . . . . ," Emmett paused for a second. "Yeah. I have nothing to say to that. I feel bad he didn't get Rose's smart genes."

"You better hope Anna did," I said. "We don't want her to think that maybe if she ties a sheet to her shirt that she could jump out a window and fly."

"It worked, though!" Emmett said.

"For like, 2 seconds before you fell on your arm and broke it." Jasper said.

"And you also broke your mom's birdbath." I laughed.

"Yeah. I was grounded for what seemed like years. I was a stupid kid." Emmett said, sighing.

"Can't argue with that." I say, while Jasper shakes his head.

The kids were now all lying in the grass, drawing pictures in the stars.

"It's a bunny!" Bailey says.

"No, it's a unicorn fairy!" McKayla shouts.

"You are both wrong. It's Optimus Prime." James says.

"No. It's a, a, a, dog peeing." Annabelle shouts at the top of her lungs. All the kids bust out into laughter.

"That's my girl," Emmett says. "I better go tell them it's time to leave."

"Can you send McKayla over here please?" I ask Emmett, he nods his head as he walks over there.

"I worry about his kids." Jasper whispers.

"Oh, yeah. Good thing they have Rose as a mother." I whisper back.

_**9:30pm**_

"Did you have a good first day of Kindergarten, today?" I ask McKayla as I'm tucking her in.

"Yeah, lots of fun. You were right! I made three new friends." She said, smiling really big.

"Aren't I always right?" I say, she gives me that whatever look. "I'm glad you made friends, though."

"Me too. They are really nice. I can't wait to go back tomorrow." McKayla then yawned.

"Good night, baby." I say, giving her a good night kiss. I get up and turn on her night light.

"Night daddy." She rolls over and closes her eyes. I stand in her door way for a bit, before I see her breathing even out. I turn off her light and shut her door.

* * *

**This is basically how the chapters are going to go. It'll be an entire day in Edward's life. Plus a memory from Edward's past. I'll try and update every Monday or Tuesday. But, with school starting on Thursday, that might be hard. But, I'll try. Thanks for reading! Reviews appreciated xoxo**


	3. Good news and bad news

**I don't know what to say about this chapter other then, it might make tears fall. See you at the bottom!  
**

**Note: I'm not a medicine expert, so don't think anything I've put into this chapter pertaining to the medical field is true.  
**

* * *

_**Saturday, September 1**__**st**__** 2012 (10:30am)**_

It seems like August just started, and now it's over. McKayla has gotten through her first full week of Kindergarten. She says she is ready to quit school now because she thinks she's learned everything she needs to know. But, I told her that if she wanted to quit school, she'd have to go out and get a job. She didn't like that idea so much and quickly said to not tell the school that she was going to quit. I told her I'd keep it a secret.

September had arrived and it was starting to cool down. September hasn't been the happiest of months in this family. Not only is Bella's birthday in 2 weeks, but the anniversary of my mother's death is this month. This is a tough month for everyone. And to start it off, I'm taking McKayla to the hospital to go talk to her mother. I take her every 2 weeks to go and see her. I haven't told her the real reason her mother is there, because I feel she isn't old enough to understand. The story she knows is that, Bella is playing Sleeping Beauty and I have to wait to get permission from the doctor before I can kiss her awake. So, for now, we can only talk to her and Bella can hear everything we're saying to her. She seems to believe it for now.

McKayla woke up excited and anxious. She was really excited to go and tell Bella about her first day of school. But, I told her we had to wait til 1:30 before we could leave. For her, that seems like a very, very long time.

"Can you make time go faster?" McKayla asked. We were still sitting on the couch in our pajamas, watching Phineas and Ferb.

"I wish I could, but I can't." I said, in between a yawn. McKayla came bursting into my room at 7:30 demanding I make her pancakes. She needs to know that weekends are for sleeping past eight.

"Why can't you?"

"Because I don't have a time machine like Phineas and Ferb's."

"Daddy?" She looked up at me.

"McKayla?" I said, looking back at her.

"Phineas and Ferb don't exist. This is a cartoon." She turned back to the TV screen.

"What do you mean they aren't real? If they aren't real, then what is real? My heart is broken." I say, grabbing at my chest.

McKayla giggled. "I'm real!"

"Are you sure," I said, raising my eyebrow. She nodded her head. "I better make sure."

I lifted her up and laid her down on the couch. I picked up her right foot and started moving her toes around as if I was inspecting them. She began to giggle. Once I was satisfied, I picked up the other foot. I tickled the bottom of it and McKayla let out a shriek of laughter. I put her foot down, and went and tickled her stomach. She was letting out exasperated breaths and giggles.

"STOP! It tickles too much!" She let out between giggles and breaths. I smiled down at her and trailed kisses all over her forehead and cheeks.

"Yep, I think you are very much real." I said. McKayla was still laughing a little bit. She finally sat back up after a few seconds, and crawled into my lap. I wrapped my arms around her. We sat like that for a little while and watched the rest of Phineas and Ferb.

"Why don't we go give you a bath and we'll leave early?" I told her, after the show was over.

"Yay!" She leaped off of my lap and raced to her room to pick out her outfit.

_**(12:12pm)**_

McKayla had wasted no time, getting her clothes and taking a bath. Once she was done, she watched TV while I got ready. After we got done at the hospital, I was going to drop her off at Alice and Jasper's house. I was going to pick up my dad, so we could go to the cemetery together.

Right now, McKayla and I were in the car on the way to the hospital. McKayla was unusually quiet for the most part. She would ask the occasional question, but other than that she was quiet. McKayla liked seeing Bella, but she didn't like hospitals. She didn't like them for the fact that, they were keeping her mother away from her all the time. She had told me one time, that she was afraid that one day, she'd go to see her and she wouldn't be there. I assured her that it would never happen. Bella would always be there, until she woke up.

I pulled into the parking lot and shut the engine off, it was really quiet.

"You ready sweetheart?" I semi turned in my seat.

"Yes." McKayla said, almost too low for me to hear.

I unbuckled and got out of the car to help her out of her seat. I ended up carrying her into the hospital. When we walked in, it felt all too familiar. And I don't think a hospital was supposed to feel familiar to you. I knew about half the staff of doctors and nurses, by their first names. And they knew mine in return.

"Good afternoon, Edward. Hello there, McKayla." The receptionist, Zafrina, said.

"Hi, Zafrina, " I smiled warmly at her, while McKayla gave a small wave. "Is it okay if we go and visit Bella?"

"Of course you can. You know the way." She said, waving us on.

"Thank you." I gave a slight nod and heading towards the familiar hallway.

"Oh, Edward, I almost forgot," I heard Zafrina call from behind me. I turned around to face her. "Dr. Carlisle, wants to speak with you. I'll have him meet you down there."

"Alright, thanks again." I turned back around and walked to Bella's room in the ICU.

"Why does he want to talk to you, daddy?" McKayla asked.

"I don't know, baby." I said. I was hoping it wasn't something bad. I hoped and prayed it was some good news.

We had finally reached Bella's room. I set McKayla down on the ground and opened the door. We both walked inside. I shut the door behind us. McKayla walked over to Bella's bed, and stood a few feet away from her.

"It's okay," I said, coming up behind her. "You can sit down in the chair next to her." I tapped her on the back, she moved forward a little bit. After a few beeps from the machinery, McKayla took a seat by Bella. She placed her hands in her lap and kind of stared at the ground.

"I don't know what to say." She whispered.

"Why don't you tell her about school? She'd love to hear that." I whispered back. I had moved to stand behind her, resting my hands on her shoulders. At that moment, there was a soft knock on the door. Both our heads went to the door to see who was entering the room.

"Sorry to disturb you. Good afternoon, Edward and McKayla." Dr. Carlisle entered the room.

"Hello, Dr. Carlisle." I said.

"I'm really sorry, but could I have a word with you, in the hall?" Carlisle asked, smiling down at McKayla, who blushed and looked away.

"Yeah. Sure thing," I said to him. I whispered into McKayla's ear. "You stay here and just talk, okay? I'll be right back."

"Okay, daddy." I kissed the top of her head and then followed Dr. Carlisle out into the hallway, shutting the door.

"How are you, Edward?" He asked, in the quiet hallway.

"I'm doing pretty well. How about yourself?"

"Same here, Esme and I just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary." He said. Carlisle was a 52 year old with bleach blonde hair and blue eyes. But, if you first saw him, you'd think he was in his early 30's. His wife was equally as young looking. I've seen her on occasion at the hospital

"Congratulations."

"Thank you," he said with a smile. And then, he dropped his smile slightly. "Now, I'm sure Zafrina told you, I needed to speak with you, correct?" I nodded, crossing my arms.

"Well, I have some updates on Bella's condition for you. Now, it's good and bad." He looked down at his clipboard.

"What's the bad news?" I asked.

"Well, the bad news is, the hospital wants to cut her life support-" He didn't get a chance to finish before I cut him off.

"What?!" My voice rose slightly. They wanted to cut off everything that's keeping her alive. No. That isn't an option.

"Edward, I'm sorry, but that decision is out of my hands. I tried to reason with them. They are saying she has been here for almost 7 years, and she hasn't woken up yet. They want to give up her room for other patients." Carlisle said, none of his words offering any comfort. I was being to boil inside.

"You're a hospital. You're supposed to help people get better. Cutting off her life support isn't helping her, it's, it's-"I couldn't finish my sentence. I ran my left hand through my hair, while the right was clenched into a fist. "How long til they cut it off?"

"They are planning on sometime in April. They are giving her 7 more months. After the 7 months is up, they are cutting her off." I could tell Carlisle didn't want to deliver this information.

7 months left. Bella had 7 months left to wake up, before she would be gone forever. How was I going to tell her parents? How was I going to tell our only daughter?

"You said there was good news. What is it?" Not that it would make a difference.

"Well," Carlisle said as he flipped pages on his clipboard. "I might be able to make her wake up sooner. Down in the labs, the technicians and scientists are working on a serum that helps coma victims. But, it's still undergoing testing."

"How will it work, if it gets approved?"

"Well, it will be injected into the patient's neck. It will pass through the blood stream and straight to the brain. It's supposed to speed up the waking up process." Carlisle explained the best he could in non-doctoral terms.

"And you think they could have this ready before April?" I say. I don't want to get my hopes up and end up having them crushed.

"They've been working on it, for about 3 years now. It's been a process of trial and error. But, I've been informed that it is very close to being ready, maybe about 5 months. So, by February, it should be ready for use."

I breathed a sort of sigh of relief. I could possibly have my Bella back in 5 months. McKayla would finally have a mother figure around. But, the serum would have to be ready in time. "Thank you, so much, for giving me and McKayla a window of hope."

"You're welcome," He said, putting his hand firmly on my shoulder. "I want you to know Edward, I am on your side in this." He patted my shoulder, before walking away to let me drown in my thoughts.

I had a 7 month window to worry about her never waking up. Now, I have to wait 5 months before she possibly wakes up. I would finally be able to see those beautiful brown eyes again. I would be able to hear her contagious laugh and her breathtaking smile. She would get to see McKayla all grown up.

Suddenly remembering McKayla was still in the room, I turned to the door and silently turned the door knob. I cracked the door open slightly, hearing the chatter of a small, quiet small voice.

". . . and he accidentally got out of his cage! It was so funny. Mrs. Kate was running around the classroom trying to catch him." McKayla was telling Bella about her class hamster, Franky. "He ran into the boy's bathroom. One of the boys in my class, Max, ran into the bathroom and caught him! He was the hero." There was a pause. I was about to come in when she started talking again.

"I wish you would wake up soon. Daddy really misses you. That's why he visits you almost every day. I wish I knew you, like he does. He has told me all these stories about you. I know I never got to know you, but I love you, mommy." I didn't realize it but, tears were falling down my cheeks. I quickly rubbed them away, and entered the room.

"Time to go, honey." I said, trying not to scare her. McKayla turned her head, and she too, had been crying. She got up off the chair and ran at me. I swept her up into my arms and let her cry on my shoulder.

_**(2:43pm)**_

I had dropped McKayla off at the Whitlock's and I was on my way to pick up my father. Edward Sr. has been living alone for 8 years now. My mother, Elizabeth, passed away 8 years ago today. She lost her battle with breast cancer. And every year on September 1st, my dad and I got visit her grave and lay down fresh flowers.

My dad is a retired business man. He's basically a millionaire. He was the CEO of a big corporation in Seattle. He retired a few years ago when realized he wasn't into working anymore. Now he spends his days, in his house sitting around. I've tried to get him to go out and do things with me, but he's never been up too it. I forced him one time, and I'll never do that again. We don't really get along much since mom died. She was basically the rock of the family, and now that she is gone, it's like we're strangers.

I pull up the long drive, and pull up to the front door. My dad lives in my childhood home, concealed in the woods. The whole back half is made of glass. This house is nothing to me anymore. It's brings an uncomfortable vibe whenever I have to stay longer than necessary.

I left the car running as I hoped out and went to ring the doorbell. A little while later, my dad opened up the door. "Edward."

"Dad." There was no hug, no hand shaking, no anything. This was our normal behavior. He grunted and walked to the passenger side of the car. I sighed.

"Where's McKayla?" He asked inspecting the inside of the car like it will give him a disease.

"I dropped her off at a friend's house. She's fine." I said, wanting to get this over with. I don't want to deal with his antics.

"Why are you always dumping her off at a friend's house? Isn't that what a babysitter is for?" Another reason we don't get along, he doesn't like my parenting style.

"I'm not dumping her anywhere. My friends have kids too, and they volunteer to look after her. I sometimes look after their kids when necessary too. It saves on paying a stranger to look after them." I said, turning onto the main road.

"When am I ever going to get to see her?" He asked, fiddling with the radio knob.

"I don't know, dad. I haven't had time to drive out here that much, since I'm back at work." I was trying hard not to snap. It was always an interrogation when he was near me.

"That's not work. That's just sitting in an office, reading things people give you. Running a business, now that is working." He gave up trying to find a station, and grunted.

"Nothing is work to you, unless it involves wearing a suit and tie and bossing people around." I mumbled. Just 7 more miles, and then he'll be quiet.

"I hope you remembered the flowers or else this whole trip will have been pointless." He commented seconds later.

"They are in the back seat." I tighten my hands on the steering wheel. I breathe in and out through my nose to calm myself.

"What kind are they?"

"Why don't you look back there and check for yourself?" I grumble.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Lilies, like always dad." Lilies were mom's favorite flowers, especially the orange ones.

I finally saw the entrance to the cemetery, and shouted a big old yay in my head. I turned into the drive, and drove down to the end of the path and shut off the car. My dad got out of the car and walked to the grave site. I got out and grabbed the flowers and followed him.

She had a pretty headstone in the middle of the plot:

_Elizabeth Lynn Cullen_

_June 23__rd__, 1956 – September 1__st__ 2004_

_A loving Mother and Wife_

_You will be missed, but forever in our hearts_

I picked out the dead leaves and dried up stems from inside the holder in the ground and placed the fresh flowers in it. I stood next to my dad and just listened to the sounds of nature. My mind was bringing me to the day of her funeral. Everything changed that day. . . .

-oOo-

_**Saturday, September 4**__**th**__** 2004 (11:00am)**_

_It was an unusually bright day in Forks. Considering the circumstances, it should have been the exact opposite. Today was the day; we were going to bury my mother. She had died 3 days ago, but seemed like it just happened. I hadn't been myself at all. I was grieving and grieving hard. I could barely talk to anyone, and I just wanted to be left alone. I felt bad for Bella because she was trying to be supportive, but I was shutting her out. And I know I was supposed to be there for my father, but he was also shutting everyone out. He left me alone in this. I've had to do everything. Luckily, mom had prepared us for this. She had everything planned out. She knew her deadline, and began to plan accordingly. All I had to do was make calls and it was already set. _

_I was standing outside the church in my suit and tie. Bella was standing beside me; she had her arm intertwined in mine. I was greeting people as they made their way into the church. Some of them I didn't know. I'm guessing they were friends of my parents. All of my relatives showed up. The church was going to be packed with people. My mother was a well-loved woman in this town. _

_Once everyone arrived, the sermon began. The priest began to read some of my mother's favorite hymns. We sang some of her favorite songs. My dad didn't want to give a speech; he left that job up to me. I was speaking for the both of us. I got up from the pew, and went to the podium. I faced the family and friends of my mother._

"_Thank you all for being here today. I know you all loved my mother in some way shape or form. And it is very much appreciated by me and my father, Edward Sr. that you all came to celebrate her life." I took a deep breath, swallowing the tears and continued. "My mom was a very happy woman. She loved everything in life. There wasn't a hateful bone in her body. She was a free spirit. She loved to laugh. She would always know that one special way to make you feel better. I loved her, so much. She was the best mother I could possibly have. She was always looking out for me. When I went and tried out for the school soccer team in middle school, she was there on the side lines cheering me on. When I had to get braces in 7__th__ grade, she bought me all the ice cream I could ever want. She was always there." I took a small pause. I looked out at all the faces, and over half of them had wet faces. _

"_She was always there to pick me up when I was feeling down. Like, when I did make the soccer team, but at the first game, I accidentally kicked the ball into the wrong goal. I quit soccer shortly after that." There was a murmur of laughter. "She told me that she loved me, even though I wasn't going to be the athletic kid she wanted. She also knew when there was something growing between me and my best friend." I looked out and met Bella's eyes. She was smiling through the trail of tears falling down her face. "My mom encouraged me to tell her how I felt. Well, I tried and it didn't quite come out the way I wanted it too. So, mom came into the room after, obviously spying on us from the kitchen, and took over the situation. She just came out and said, 'Edward wants to go out on a date with you. Yes or yes?' I was really embarrassed. But, it worked." I smiled down at Bella. She was blushing and she mouthed the word, "I love you." _

"_When I was 19, our family was struck with the news that she had a tumor in her breast. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer. But did she let that stop her? Of course not. She went on with her life. She didn't care that she was completely bald. She was still beautiful though. After about 1 year of chemo therapy, she decided she wanted to stop treatment. She told us, it was obviously her time to go. We tried to convince her to change her mind, but being has hard headed as she was, she stuck with her decision. But, she made me promise that I was going to marry Bella before she passed. And I had kept my promise." I couldn't help the tears that choked my speech now. I needed to wrap it up before I lost it completely. _

"_I know she is here with us today. She is probably the one making the sun shine for us today. I know we'll all miss her. But, she'll never really leave us. She'll always be in our hearts and our memories. I love you mom. Thank you for always being there for me." I left the podium and sat down next to Bella again. _

_**1:30pm **_

_We were in the cemetery now for the burial ceremony. Her casket was a pretty shade of blue. The priest said a few words. And then it was time to lower her into the ground. As she was being lowered into the ground, different family members were throwing lilies on top. Once it got to Bella, me and my dad, she was almost all the way under. Dad threw his in and then walked away. I slowly walked up to the hole with Bella on my arm. We both threw them in the ground at the same time. Bella gripped my arm and rested her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her and wrapped her in a hug. _

_My mom was truly gone. No more hugs, no more laughs, no more smiles. And she also took my father with her. He has been isolating himself in their house away from everyone. He has barely spoken to anyone. He's said a few words, but other than that, it's been like he's nonexistent. He even left shortly after he dropped his flower in the hole. I know he was hurting and probably morphing into a depressed state. I wanted to comfort him, but I knew I needed to give him space. And hopefully he'd go back to the way he was. _

_-oOo-_

Sadly, he's still acting like that now. The wind was starting to pick up slightly and it was getting chilly.

"Well, I want to go home now." Dad gave one final glance at her site, and then walked to the car.

"I miss you, mom." I whispered, before following behind him.

_**(9:45pm)**_

I had been debating on whether to make this call or not. But, I felt that they should have a right to know what is going on. I dialed the number and listened to the ring on the other side.

"Hello?" A chipper voice on the other end said after 4 rings.

"Hi, Renee." I said.

"Oh, hello Edward." She said, a bit of shock in her voice.

"Is Charlie home? I kind of need to tell you both something?"

"Not at the moment, he's out with some of his old police buddies. Do you want to wait or. . "

"No no. You can just tell when he gets home. It's about Bella." I said.

"What is it?" She sounded worried. She had a right to be.

"Well, I talked to her doctor today. And Carlisle gave me some news. Good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?" She sounded like she was about to go into panic mode now. I should have waited for Charlie to be there for this. Too late now.

"Well, he told me, the hospital is going to cut off her life support. But, before you freak out," I said, because I could hear her breath hitching. "They have given her a 7 month window. So, she has until April." There was silence on the other end.

"Renee?"

"Was that supposed to be the good news? My baby has 7 months left. That's not good news."

"No. The good news is they might have a way to get her to wake up in 5 months. The scientists and technicians are working on a serum to help coma victims and they have it almost right." I explained.

"So, she could be waking up by February?" Renee spoke with a bit of hope in her voice.

"Yes, that is what I was told. But, it's only a possibility."

"Possibility or no possibility, it gives us hope we'll be seeing her in 5 months. I can't wait to tell Charlie. Have you told McKayla?"

"No," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Only because, I don't want this possibility to crush her if it's not true."

"I understand. It would break her heart."

"Yeah." There were a few beats of silence. "Well, I better let you go. I just wanted to keep you updated."

"Alright. Thank you, Edward. See you soon, okay?" Renee said.

"Yeah, see you soon. Bye." The line went dead, and I let all the emotions from today go.

* * *

**This chapter will probably be the longest one. I couldn't stop writing it. I just kept pumping out the depressing storylines. I hope you liked it, in some way. See you next week! xoxo**


	4. Birthdays

**In honor of Bella's birthday tomorrow, here is a birthday chapter just for her! Hope you like!  
**

* * *

_**Thursday, September 13**__**th**__**, 2012 **_

This past week seemed to fly by, probably because today lurked on the horizon. Today was going to be one of those days where certain things, were going to spark certain memories. Not that I minded, but sometimes those memories weren't the happiest. Today wasn't just another day without her. Today was another birthday without her. And for some reason, birthdays were the worst days for me. This would be the sixth birthday we didn't get to spend "together". Of course I always visit her on this day, but it just never feels the same.

Today was Bella's 30th birthday. I can only imagine what she would have been like on this day. She was always worried about getting older. She didn't like the aspect of getting old. She would tell me that she wanted to get old gracefully. She didn't want to wake up one morning with grey hair and wrinkles. I told her that even if she did, she'd still look beautiful to me. Even though she was afraid of aging, she was never afraid of dying. She was like my mother in that way, neither of them fearing death.

If Bella was here with me today, she would have told me not to make a big deal out of her birthday. And like always, I wouldn't listen. I always ended up throwing some type of party for her. They were never a surprise because she always knew I wouldn't listen, yet she hoped every time she told me no party. This year wouldn't have been an acceptation.

Every year I take this day off of work. Not because I want to sit at home and grieve, but because I want to spend most of this day with my wife. Even if it means just sitting by her bedside and telling her stories for five hours; nobody should spend their birthday alone.

_**8:30am**_

I was sitting in the diner across town. I had just dropped McKayla off at school, with a little resistance. She didn't want to leave me alone today, but I told her that her mom would want her in school and learning today. McKayla told me that she'd be thinking about Bella all day, today. I remember the small ache in my chest when she said that. Hopefully, we'll get to spend her next birthday together.

The Carver Café was a small diner that Bella and I used to go to all the time when we were first married. It was a little run down, the booths were ripping in places and some of the tables were wobbly, but it had amazing food. I was sitting in the booth in far right of the diner, right next to the window overlooking a small field. This was our table.

"Hey Edward, how are you?" The waitress, Cora, greeted me as came up to the table. She set down a white coffee mug and filled it with my drink of choice, black coffee.

"Hi Cora. I'm good. How are you?" I said, picking up the steaming mug.

"I'm wonderful. How's McKayla these days? Still full of energy, I hope?" She smiled at me. She had these laugh lines etched into her cheeks. Cora was always smiling and laughing.

"Oh yeah. She started Kindergarten a few weeks ago. She's running her energy out there." I chuckled.

"Relief for you I would think?" She said, pulling out her notepad. "The usual, I'm guessing?"

"Yes, thank you." I said, with a nod. She gave me one last smile before walking off to put my order in.

I kind of let my wonder off as I stared off into the field. There was a breeze blowing outside and the tall grasses were swaying with it. It looked so peaceful. The tree's outside were starting to change colors. There were beautiful shades of orange, yellow and red out there. Bella loved this season the best. She loved everything about fall; the leaves changing, the smell of the air. Bella loved to sit outside on fall nights with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate and just look at the stars.

I remember this one time when we first moved into our house all those years ago and all the leaves from the trees in our yard fell off. I was trying to rake them up, but Bella had a different idea. Once I had them in a nice pile, she would kick them around the yard. Of course I got frustrated, and raked them back up again. She looked at me innocently like she didn't do anything. And then, once I got them all raked up again, she'd do it again. She thought it was so funny. Eventually, I gave up after the fourth try raking them up. I threw down my rake and chased her around the yard. She would retaliate by picking up leaves and throwing them at me. We were acting like five year olds, but we didn't really care. I picked up some leaves and began to throw them back. It turned into an all-out war. Leaves were flying and getting stuck in our hair and on our clothes. She looked so beautiful with the red, orange and yellow leaves in her hair. I remember I had caught up to her and picked her up and fell backwards into a pile of leaves, she must have missed.

She laid there on top of me, laughing and trying to catch her breath. I brought my hand up, and brushed a piece of her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her hair. She looked at me, with those chocolate brown eyes and ran her hands through my bronze locks. I took my hand and rested it on her cheek, rubbing my thumb back and forth across her soft skin. I remember bringing her face closer to mine and resting her forehead on mine. . . .

"Here you go, Edward." Cora said, jolting me out of the memory.

"Thank you." I look away from the window and begin cutting into my waffle.

_**10:08am**_

I pulled up to a store in Port Angeles. I walk up to the little jewelry shop at the end of the little strip mall. The tinkling of the little bell on the door announces my presence. I walk over to the glass display case near the front of the store. There is a little old woman who is down at the other end cleaning the glass. She looks up and smiles at me. I give a curt nod and look back down at the display case.

Every year on Bella's birthday I've bought her a charm, for the bracelet I bought her back when we first officially started dating in high school. These past six years haven't been an acceptation. She was turning the big 3-0 this year, so this charm had to be extra special. I looked in the case at the various charms displayed. There were birds, hearts, music notes and various other objects. I also tried to find the one that stood out to me the most. The one charm that brought about something in me.

"What can I help you with, my dear?" The old woman had made her way down to me.

"Oh, I'm just looking for the perfect charm for my wife." I said, casually with my brow furrowed. None of these ones were sticking out to me.

"Did you have a particular item in mind?" Her voice had that grandmotherly, sweet tone to it.

"Well, she's already got most of these. I just want something really special. She's turning thirty today."

"Hmmm," the old woman tapped her chin with her boney finger. "I might have something somewhere. I'll have to go get it from the back. Do you mind waiting?"

"No, not at all." I said to her. She told me she'd be back in a flash and disappeared behind a curtain.

I wondered away from the display and looked around the store. The store had more than jewelry in it, but nothing Bella would be interested in. She wasn't an accessory kind of girl. She didn't like anything too flashy or too big. Her wedding band had a simple diamond on it. It looked like I'd just bought it out of one of those machines they have the mall and grocery stores. But, she liked it that way.

I was looking at some necklaces when the old lady finally came back. "Sorry about that, my son was on the phone. Does this look special enough?" She showed me what was in her hand.

It was a gorgeous diamond shaped heart. I could tell that it wasn't fake. The little amount of sunlight streaming in through the window, made it cast a rainbow across my hand. I already gave Bella a heart charm when I first told her I loved her, but this one seems to hold a different meaning to me.

"It's perfect." I whispered.

"Then it's yours. It was just something I had sitting back in the storage room for a while. I've always forgotten to put it out on display." She said, walking back over to the cashier's counter.

"Thank you so much. She's going to love this, when she wakes up." I said, following her to the counter and pulling out my wallet.

"She still at home sleeping?" She gave a chuckle at my statement. My smile kind of dropped a little.

"Um, she's actually in the hospital. She, uh," I began to choke up. I cleared my throat. "She's in a coma."

"Oh, dear. I'm so sorry. I didn't realize." The old woman put on the sympathy look I've gotten so much over the years.

"It's alright," I cleared my throat again. "How much?"

She looked at me for a second before answering. "For you, half price. That would be $45.67."

I pulled out a fifty and told her to keep the change. "Thank you, again."

"You are welcome, dear. And, I hope your wife wakes up soon." She smiled that sweet smile from before. I only gave a nod before heading for the door.

_**11:22am**_

After the jewelry store, I drove down the street to a flower shop. I picked up a bouquet of white daisies. And then I drove up to the hospital. I walked down the familiar hall to the familiar room in the ICU. I put the flowers in the vase sitting on the night stand and then sat down in the chair.

"Hey love," I said. I grasped her unmoving hand. "Happy birthday, you're thirty today. I know what you'd be telling me today, 'Age is just a number. And no party!' Of course you know me. I wouldn't have listened." I swirled my thumb over her knuckles.

"I got you another charm today. Some nice old lady found it in the back of her store. It might stick out amongst your others, though." Her bracelet was sitting on her night stand. I picked it up and pulled the charm out of my pocket. I attach it to the bracelet in between the wedding rings and the chef hat. It did kind of stick out, but I liked it that way.

"Today is probably one of the most important days in my life. It was the day the most important person in my life, came into the world. I couldn't be a happier person. I wish you were mentally here with me right now. So, you could hear me tell you all of this. I really miss you. I wish I could spend this birthday with you. I want to see you blush again, when everyone sings you Happy Birthday around your cake that you've baked yourself. I want to see you laugh over the gag gifts everyone gets you. I want to hear everyone yell at us to get a room when we share a kiss over the gift I've given you." I take a small pause to collect my thoughts. I'm still holding the bracelet in my hands. I begin to look at every charm dangling from it. My hand stops on one in particular. It is a small silver, soda bottle.

"I remember that year on your 14th birthday, where Rose and Alice thought it was a good idea to play spin the bottle. That was the first time we kissed each other. . . ."

_**Friday September 13**__**th**__** 1996 (8:47pm)**_

_I was sitting on the couch in Bella's living room. Today was her 14__th__ birthday and she was having a small party with all her friends. Besides me it was our close circle of friends, Emmett, Alice, Japser and Rosalie. Emmett was over at the snack table eating, like always. Jasper was sitting next to me on the couch, flirting with Alice who was sitting on the floor beside Rosalie and Bella. The girls were trying to come up with a fun party game to play. Oh, and Bella's parents had gone out on a date to give us some privacy. They trusted a bunch of hormonal teenagers too much. _

"_We could always play truth or dare." Alice suggested. Rose scoffed at that idea._

"_That is so boring. Everyone always picks truth just because they don't want to do something embarrassing." Rose said, looking down at her nails._

"_That's because girls are a bunch of wussies." Emmett said after swallowing a mouth full of pretzels._

"_Bite me." Rose shot back. _

"_Is that a dare?" Emm said with an eyebrow wiggle. Rose and Emm have been flirting with each other on and off all year. _

"_Ugh, you're nasty," Rose said, throwing a pillow from the nearby chair at him. "How about we play spin the bottle?" _

"_Don't we need more people for that?" Bella said, biting her lip. _

"_No, we'll be fine. If worse comes to worse, Edward and Emmett will finally realize their bromance is real." Rose said with a giggle, getting up and walking into the kitchen._

"_Hey, Edward and I would make a cute couple! Right, Ed?" Emmett said. I cocked my eyebrow at him._

"_If you weren't a dude, maybe." _

"_You saying I need to act more famine?" He walked away from the snack table, and stood right next to me. In his best girl voice he says, "Like, omg, Edward! Your hair looks so amazing tonight!" He runs his hand through my tousled locks. I quickly stand up and back away from him. _

"_Uh, that was really freaky. And, a good impression at the same time." Jasper said, laughing from his spot on the couch._

"_Why does Jasper look like he's dying from a lack of oxygen?" Rose says walking back in with an empty soda bottle. _

"_Emmett just impersonated a girl and hit on Edward. Their bromance is on." Alice said_

"_Well, isn't that just great. Now, let's hope they don't make out during this game." Rose said, sitting down in the middle of the living room, placing the bottle on the floor. Everyone sat in a circle around the bottle._

"_I'm not kissing him. Sorry, Emm. I don't know where your lips have been." I said, patting him on the back._

"_But, why? Like, I thought we were good like together. Are we like, breaking up now? OMG!" Emm pretended to cry into his hands._

"_It's okay, Emm. Jasper is still available," Alice said, giggling at the look Jasper just gave her. "Now, I think Bella should go first. Since it's her birthday and all."_

"_Alright. But Alice, just so you know if this lands on you, no tongue." Bella said, before twirling the bottle with a bit of force. I watched the bottle as it spun around and around on the wooden floor. I began to sweat a little. I didn't want it to land on me. I didn't get why we were playing this game with each other. Weren't you supposed to play with this more then six people and people who you weren't best friends with? I just think Rose just wanted an excuse to kiss Emmett. _

_The bottle began to slow down, and as it made its final turn, the nose of the bottle pointed slightly to my left. _

"_Ooooooooooooo! Bella has to kiss Eddiward! Watch out, I heard he uses to much tongue and he bites." Emm said, with a chuckle. I gave him a glare._

"_Uhh, does everyone have to look?" Bella was looking at me, worrying her lip with her teeth. _

"_This isn't 7 minutes in heaven, but if you want to play that game, I'm sure it can be arranged." Rose said, with a smirk on her face._

"_No!" Bella said all too quickly. "I mean." She started to turn a cute shade of pink. "Fine." She crawled across the circle and sat in front of me. She looked me in the eyes. I was about to kiss my best friend. And I didn't even like her that way. At least, I never thought I liked her that way. _

_I licked my bottom lip. I decided to get it over with and brought my head closer to hers. She sucked in a breath before our lips met. And if was like something in me went off. Her lips fit perfectly with mine. It wasn't even that sloppy kind of kiss, it was just a peck to the lips and it was over. She pulled her head away. Her eyes were somewhat wide in shock. I could tell she felt what I had just felt. _

_She blushed that crimson shade of red and crawled back to her spot. I didn't realize it but everyone was staring at us._

-oOo-

"And I remember touching my lips after that kiss and still feeling yours there. You had some strawberry lip gloss on and I could taste it. I knew after that, that I was definitely feeling something for you. It only took a push from my mother to get me to act on it. And I'm glad I did." I set the bracelet back down on the table.

"Happy Birthday, love. I love you. I hope I get to spend your next birthday with you." I kissed her on the forehead before leaving the hospital.

* * *

**I've been busy with school and distractions, but I managed to get this chapter out to you guys! See you next week! xoxo**


	5. The First Act of Rebellion

**This is one of many chapters that will be published in the next 2-4 days. I have almost a month worth of chapters that need to be published since I've been slacking. Here's the first of many updates coming at you!**

* * *

_**Monday September 17**__**th**__** 2012 (6:50am)**_

It's a Monday; the start of a new week. McKayla is just down the hall, getting ready for school and I can hear the soft musings of her little pink radio playing her Little Mermaid CD. But, she wasn't her usual perky self. McKayla seemed very reserved. I asked her if she was alright, but all she said was, "I'm fine." with a half-smile over her bowl of Lucky Charms. I didn't want to push her on the matter because she was just like her mother in that way, always so stubborn.

I finished tying my tie, in a last stitch effort. Bella used to always tie them for me. I still haven't gotten any better. I walk down the hall to McKayla's room and knocked softly on the door.

"Sweetie, you ready to go?" I peek my head in and find my angel staring into her full length mirror with a perplexed expression. She would brush her hair off her shoulders, and then bring it back over. She'd sigh and grumble, than cross her arms. She looked so troubled for a six year old.

"Daddy am I pretty?" she asked me, looking at me through her reflection in the mirror. "Be honest."

"You're more than pretty, baby. You are beautiful." I say walking over to her. Ariel is belting out "Part of Your World" in the background.

"Really?" McKayla turned to me in her plaid skirt and glittery white top.

"Of course. I am your dad. I know these things." I squat down and rest my hands on her hips. She begins to play with the ends of her bronze locks.

"Hmmm. . . " McKayla walks over to her closet to get her white and very wore sandals.

"Are you sure there isn't anything wrong?"

"Yes, I'm sure." And that smile reappeared on her face. Why won't she tell me what's bothering her?

"Alright then," I stood up and walked to her door. "Well, then let's get you to school."

Her face changed ever so slightly. The frown became more pronounced. But, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Something was definitely wrong.

**(11:27am)**

I was sitting at my desk, finishing up my lunch of cold pepperoni and sausage pizza when the phone rang.

"McCarty Publishing, Edward Cullen speaking."

"Hello, Mr. Cullen, very sorry to disturb you, but this is Ms. Weber, principal at Forks Elementary. I am calling you in regards to your daughter, McKayla."

I sat up straighter in my desk chair. I tried my best not to panic. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not really. But, there was an incident involving your daughter." Ms. Weber says through the phone.

"What kind of incident?" There was a hint of worry in my tone.

"Well, it seems your daughter decided she wanted to make one of the students her personal art project." There was some snarkyness to Ms. Weber's tone. I let out a sigh of relief that she wasn't hurt, but then my mind turned to concern.

"Who was the other student?"

"A girl by the name of Savannah Newton. There were multiple students involved, but it seems your McKayla was the instigator. I do not tolerate this behavior in my school, Mr. Cullen."

I ran a hand down my face from frustration. "I'm terribly sorry. Do I need to come down and get her?"

"Yes, and her teacher Miss Kate and I would like to have a word with both you in my office." Ms. Weber said.

"Of course," I pulled a hand through my messy hair. "I'll be there in 30 minutes."

"Great. See you then." Ms. Weber hung up before I could answer.

**(12:01pm)**

I pull into the parking lot of the school. I can hear the sounds of screaming children from the playground around back. I get out of the car and walk up to the front.

I walk into the heated entrance hall and head for the main office. I'm met with a chill when I walk into the office. The secretary looks up at me from behind her tall desk.

"Mr. Cullen, I'm guessing?" I give a nod. "Right this way." She gets up from her chair and disappears behind the desk for a second before appearing in front of me. She's a lot shorter than she looks. I follow her down a dimly lit hallway to an office door about halfway down. She gestures with her hand for me to go inside.

"Thank you, "I say before entering the small office space. Inside, Ms. Weber's sitting behind her desk, Kate is leaning up against the corner of the desk and sitting in front of both of them, is a rainbow mess of bronze hair, McKayla.

"Ah, Mr. Cullen you're here. Please, sit down." Ms. Weber said icily. McKayla sunk lower in the chair like it would swallow her up. I plopped down in the chair right next to hers. I glanced over at McKayla, who seemed to find her fingers really fascinating.

"Well you know why I called you here in the middle of the day, and I'm so very sorry again." Ms. Weber began. Ms. Weber had to be at least 60 years old. Her hair was silvery white and pulled back in a tight bun. She had a lot of wrinkles around her eyes. She didn't look like a pleasant woman.

"Oh, it's no problem. I was on my lunch break anyways." I said, giving her a smile. She just grimaced.

"I'm just going to have her teacher, Miss Kate explain to you what happened." Kate cleared her throat.

"We were in the middle of painting pictures of the alphabet. Everything was going just fine at first, but then as I was scanning the tables, I noticed Savannah say something to McKayla. She looked really upset by it. And the next thing I know, McKayla has a jar of green paint in her hand and she's dumping it all over Savannah's head. Savannah then screamed and threw paint right back at McKayla. It turned into a flat out mess after that and soon all the other kids joined in. My classroom is now a disaster zone." Miss Kate finished, with remorse in her voice.

I was in shock, for one thing. I didn't know McKayla would do such a thing. I didn't know the thing that was bugging her, was this big of a deal.

"What did she say to you?" I asked, looking down at my guilty daughter. She laced and unlaced her fingers together, not wanting to talk. She looked like she was internally punishing herself. It was really hard to be upset with her about her behavior. "Please tell us, sweetheart." At last, she spoke.

"She said," McKayla's soft voice rang through the room. "That my mom is never coming back. And that I'm not really that pretty. She said she didn't know how someone could be so ugly."

The room was very quiet. The low hum of the computer was the only thing making noise.

"I didn't know what to do. I saw the paint and . . ." McKayla began to quietly cry.

I knew I couldn't defend her actions as self-defense just because she was my daughter. What she did was wrong. I exchanged a look with Ms. Weber and Kate, none of us knowing what to say at first. None of us wanted to punish her, especially me.

"McKayla," Ms. Weber said. McKayla raised her tear streaked face. It was really hard now not to grab her and wrap her up in my arms. "You know what you did was wrong. Instead of acting out, you should have told your teacher what Savannah said. She would have handled it." McKayla nodded her head in agreement. You could tell she regrets what she did.

"Now, I'm not going to punish you since this is your first offense and no one was seriously injured. I'm letting you off with a warning. But, I don't want to see this happen again, understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." McKayla softly spoke, through sniffles.

"I'm going to send you home with your father. Get cleaned up and come back tomorrow with a new attitude." Ms. Weber sternly said.

The stillness in the room finally broke by the sound of rustling clothes and shoes stepping on the carpet.

"I must get back to my class. Good seeing you again, Edward. See you tomorrow, McKayla." Kate sauntered out of the room.

**(12:48pm)**

The car ride home was a quiet affair. I didn't turn on the radio in case McKayla wanted to talk. But, she was quiet the whole time.

When I pulled up the driveway and shut the car off. The silence eventually got to me and I spoke up. "Let's get you cleaned up and then I want to talk about what happened." I heard a mumbled "okay" from the backseat. I sighed and got out of the front seat to help her out of her car seat.

Once McKayla was in her bath, it didn't take long for the crystal clear water to turn an ugly brown color. I helped her rinse and wash her hair.

"Would you like to explain to me what happened?" I said as I was rinsing the remains of her tropical fruit shampoo out of her hair.

"But, Miss Kate already explained everything to you." She said rubbing her hand across her cheek, trying to remove the paint.

"Yes, but I want to hear it from you." I handed her, her washcloth so she could rub the paint off her legs.

She heaved a sigh and began to tell me everything. And everything included today, and what has happened since she began school almost a month ago. This Savannah girl has been picking on McKayla since the second week of school. It made me upset that she was just taking it all this time. I was mad that she never went to the teacher for help. She also tells me that she doesn't really have any friends. McKayla says she's really trying, but none of the kids, it seems to me, are really connecting to her.

"Every time I try and make a friend, they always run away. I don't get it, daddy. What's wrong with me?" McKayla asks, 20 minutes later wrapped in a fluffy purple towel.

"Nothing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. I promise you, angel." I kiss her forehead and help her towel dry her hair. "You're so special. And if the kids at school don't see that, then it's their loss for not having a great friend like you. Besides, you have Bailey, Hannah, James and Luke as friends. And you have me. You'll always have me, because I'm your friend too."

"You're my daddy, you can't be my friend and my dad, silly." McKayla said, pulling a clean pair of jeans up her paint free legs.

"I can't be your dad friend?" I said, helping her slip her lime green t-shirt over her head.

"Well," McKayla said with a real smile appearing on her face. "I guess."

"You guess?! You only guess? I don't know if I like that answer." I say before I lift her over my shoulder and begin to tickle her sides. She begins to giggle and squirm in my hold. I carry her to her bedroom.

"MERCY!" She scream laughs. I stop and lay her down on her bed. She's still coming down from her giggling high.

"You going to be okay now?" I ask, looking down at her.

"Yeah," her smile fades a bit with her next question. "Am I in trouble?"

"You promise it will never happen again?"

"Yes, I super-duper triple promise!"

"Then, you're not in trouble." I walk over to her door and lean against the door jam. "I'm going to go finish up what I was doing at work. I'll come get you later."

"Daddy?" I hear behind me as I'm about to walk out the door.

"Yes, princess?" I say, turning slightly.

"I love you and I'm sorry."

"It's alright, and I love you too."

**(1:33pm)**

"Is McKayla alright?" Emmett asks me over the phone.

"Yeah, it was just a misunderstanding." I explained, while finishing up the story I'm supposed to be editing. It was a murder mystery.

"What kind of misunderstanding?"

"Well, this mean girl in McKayla's class, Savannah Newton, said something about Bella and how McKayla wasn't pretty. McKayla decided to take it upon herself and got a hold of some paint. She took the paint and dumped it over the girl's head. And you can just imagine what happened after that."

"Did you say Newton?" Emmett asked. Really? That's all he got out of that?

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because I bet that little girl is the spawn of Jessica and Mike Newton. Their kid sounds just like her parents, spoiled and a bitch in training. I'm proud of McKayla." So, that's why the name sounded familiar. "Can I go find this girl and straighten her out for messing with my best friend's kid? Rough her up a bit?"

I let out a chuckle. "No, that wouldn't cause anything but a lawsuit."

"Damn, you're right. Fuck the Newtons and their demon child." There was a short pause of silence. "Well, I'm glad McKayla is alright. What's she doing right now?"

"Napping, I think." There was more silence. On the other side, I could hear the sounds of tapping keyboard keys.

"Well, I better get back to work before my dad kicks my ass for slacking off. I'll see you tomorrow." Emm said.

"See you tomorrow." I said, before ending the call.

-oOo-

_**Monday, December 25**__**th**__** 2006 Christmas Day (7:00am)**_

_It's quiet without you. The house seems to lack everything it used to have. The Christmas tree stands unlit. The shiny red and green wrapped presents lay unopened. I've been sitting on this couch all night, thinking. Thinking about everything that could have prevented this. _

_We could have stayed like your parents wanted us too. We could have been safe and sound in your parent's guest bedroom. We could have taken the long way, instead of the fucking highway. I could have controlled the car better. I shouldn't have panicked like I did. I should have, I could have, it's all that fills my mind. It's all my fault. If I didn't hit the tree, you'd still be here. We'd be opening presents right now. We loved getting up really on Christmas like little kids and ripping into our gifts. We didn't care about opening them gently, but we always took turns to see what each other got. You'd always complain when I got you something expensive. But, after telling me a million times to take it back, you'd give up and accept it. Then once the gifts were opened, I'd start a fire in the fireplace, or turn on the electric fireplace and we'd cuddle on the couch. _

_I couldn't open the presents addressed to me from you. And I couldn't bare touch the gifts addressed to you from me. It didn't feel right. I couldn't celebrate this holiday without you. It felt so wrong._

_McKayla was down the hall in her crib, sound asleep. She didn't know what day it was. And she wouldn't know or understand it for a long time. Just like she wouldn't know what happened and never would remember. That's the great thing about being an infant; you don't remember anything past the age of 3. I envied her because I would remember this day and everything I felt 20-30 years from now. And I hated myself for it. _

_Eventually time began to mean something to me. The sun was trying to break through the clouds outside and shine in through the window in the living room. A faint cry came from the nursery. It was time to go through the motions. I got up and walked past the Christmas tree, without giving it another glance because I practically had it memorized by now. Today was just the beginning of what would be many long days of waiting. _

-oOo-

**(5:12pm)**

"Our daughter acted out for the first time today. It was kind of shocking." I say, as I sit in the all too familiar hospital room. Bella has no changes, still. She's still the same. "I wish you could have been there. I'm scared that this is the start of some sort of rebellion from her. You need to come back, because I need you. She needs you. She needs a real mom in her life. Rose and Alice are fine since they are parents themselves, but McKayla needs her real mom there too. Please wake up soon. I don't want to see them cut you off. I wouldn't bare it if I lost you for real."

* * *

**Next update in 1-2 days! Thanks for reading xoxo**


End file.
